The emerging research base supports the importance of the essential elements of professional community. We are
drawing here from three arenas: (a) research on the effects of the adult culture on student learning, (b) research on
the impacts of teacher collective efficacy on student learning, and (c) research on the effects of teachers’ academic
optimism on student learning.
1. Compelling purpose, shared standards, and academic focus
Communities come into existence and thrive because of a common purpose for working together. A group’s Communities
come into existence and thrive because of a common purpose for working together. A group’s compelling
purpose establishes reciprocal expectations for its members. Louis, Marks, and Kruse (1996) assert that teachers’
professional communities operate with a sense of moral authority and moral responsibility for making a difference
in the lives of students. Such purpose must be grounded in clearly articulated standards for both student and
teacher performance. Defining and refining the meaning of doing good work is the task of a professional learning
community. Understandable performance and product standards are an important catalyst for conversations among
colleagues and for focusing conversations with students and parents.
The work on academic optimism by Hoy, Tarter, & Woolfolk-Hoy (2006) emphasizes the significance of establishing
and maintaining a strong academic focus in the school and is at the center of the work of any professional
community. Without such a focus, groups spend their time talking about and around peripheral issues instead of
working on the work of learning and teaching.
2. Collective efficacy and shared responsibility for student learning
The personal efficacy of individual teachers is a well-studied phenomenon (Tschannen-Moran,
Woolfolk-Hoy, & Hoy, 1998). Highly efficacious teachers believe that their teaching knowledge and skills can
overcome external factors to make an important difference for their students. Teachers with stronger personal efficacy
beliefs consistently outperform teachers in the same settings with weaker beliefs.
These applications in education are based on the concepts of self-efficacy that Albert Bandura (1977) introduced
more than a quarter century ago. Self-efficacy is the belief in our capacity to organize and carry out a plan of action
to produce some goal.
More recent work (Goddard, Hoy, & Woolfolk-Hoy, 2004) extends these concepts into the collective realm of
teaching. To have a high degree of collective efficacy means that group members believe that they and others,
individually and together, are capable of producing increased student success and of overcoming obstacles to that
goal. These collective expectations are a powerful element in a school and in a team’s working culture, influencing
the behaviors and choices of both the individuals and the group as a whole.
Goddard, Hoy and Woolfolk-Hoy (2004) report that being able to influence instructionally relevant school decisions
is the most important factor in developing a robust sense of collective efficacy. Participating in decision making
contributes strongly to teachers’ beliefs in the capabilities of their peers, fosters commitment to school goals,
and promotes gains in student achievement.
3. Collaborative Culture
Who teachers are to one another is as important as who they are to their students. In high-performing
and improving schools, studies show that collaboration is the norm (Little, 1982; Newman &
Associates, 1997). We are not talking here about project-based collaboration or the “contrived
collegiality” described by Hargreaves and Dawe (1990) in which administrators create tasks and
agendas to occupy teachers’ collective energies. Rather, we are referring to sharing expertise and
perspectives on teaching and learning processes, examining data on students, and developing a sense of
mutual support and shared responsibility for effective instruction.
Collaboration and collegiality in this way is part of one’s professional identity. It does not happen by
chance; it has to be taught, practiced, and learned. Developing collaborative cultures is the work of
leaders who realize that a collection of superstar teachers working in isolation cannot produce the same
results as interdependent colleagues who share and develop professional practices together. From such
interactions come growth and learning for teachers, teams, and schools as adaptive organizations.
4. Communal application of effective teaching practices and deprivatized practice
The norms of privacy have deep roots in “real schools.” Once the classroom door is closed, the teacher
The norm of privacy has deep roots in “real” schools.” Once the classroom door is closed, the teacher
is God. In this sphere of autonomy lies both greatness and sorrow. Within the zone of isolation, some
teachers still find ways to develop craft knowledge, content knowledge, and compassion for their
students. These extraordinary individuals manage to stimulate their teaching and continually renew
their passion for daily interactions with young minds. All too often, however, this same isolation buffers
mediocrity and hides high performers from those who might learn from their modeling, consultation,
and coaching.
When practice is deprivatized, teachers visit one another’s classrooms to observe master teaching,
to coach each other, to mentor, and to solve problems in the living laboratory of instructional space.
Students are the beneficiaries of shared teaching repertoires. Although many schools and districts
have spent much time and energy developing coherent curriculum maps, shared instructional maps
are equally important. When students proceed to the next grade or next subject in a secondary school,
having possession of a predictable learning repertoire, (such as an understanding of a palette of graphic
organizers,) energizes learning and increases success—especially for the least successful learners.
By developing communities of practice, teachers establish a working zone between the macroworld of
district initiatives and resources and the microworld of their classrooms (McLaughlin & Talbert, 2006).
In this way they develop more coherent instructional approaches that represent shared understandings of
their unique setting.
5. Relational trust in each other, in students and parents.
In their work on the effects of academic optimism on student achievement Hoy, Tarter, & Woolfolk-Hoy
(2006) point out that collective efficacy is the cognitive side of the equation, academic emphasis is the
behavioral side, and faculty trust in one another, in students, and in parents is the affective side. Given
the powerful biochemical connections between thinking and feeling in our bodies and our brains, it is
difficult to separate these functions in practice.
Trust is the glue that binds community members to one another. This is equally true for teacher
communities, classroom communities, and parent communities. When all three parties hold the
expectations for their relationships, and these expectations are grounded in shared goals and values, trust
is a powerful resource for learning.
Bryk and Schneider (2002), in their seminal work in Chicago schools, name four elements of relational
trust: respect, competence, personal regard for others, and integrity. Respect comes in the form of basic
civility and a willingness to listen deeply to what each person has to say. Parents, students, and teachers
need opportunities to talk with and influence each other and to believe that they can positively affect
educational outcomes. Competence is the sense that each party has the ability to carry out its appropriate
roles and produce desired outcomes. This applies to both academic results and teacher-student
relationships. When gross incompetence goes unchecked, it erodes trust and undermines shared efforts
toward improving learning. Personal regard for others deepens relational trust. We are a social species,
wired for relationships and reciprocity. Mutual support and mutual caring fuel these associations.
Extending ourselves to and for others is like making a deposit in the trust account; the interest in this
account compounds with each deposit. Integrity is the congruence between saying and doing. In trusting
relationships, this means we believe that a sense of morality and ethics is operating in others and in the
ways we are relating. Following through with agreements and commitments is a key aspect of integrity.
6. Individual and group learning based on ongoing assessment and feedback
““Learning is a basic, adaptive function of humans. More than any other species, people are designed to
be flexible learners and active agents in acquiring knowledge and skills” (Bransford, Brown, & Cocking,
1999, p, xi). Cognitive science tells us that learning is socially constructed and individually integrated;
learning therefore requires engaging with other learners and is an active process for all involved.
Individual and collective learning is one of the key characteristics of effective professional learning
communities (Bolam, McMahon, Stoll, Thomas, & Wallace, 2005).
For adult groups, learning how to learn together requires conscious attention, purposeful structures,
and meaningful feedback. One form of feedback arises when teachers look at student work together
to explore what is working and what might require modification in their curricular and instructional
approaches. Groups apply another form of feedback when they take time to reflect on their own
The Adaptive School: Developing and Facilitating Collaborative Groups . Center for Adaptive Schools . www.adaptiveschools.com
The Elements of Professional Community
The Adaptive School: Developing and Facilitating Collaborative Groups . Center for Adaptive Schools . www.adaptiveschools.comThe emerging research base supports the importance of the essential elements of professional community. We are
drawing here from three arenas: (a) research on the effects of the adult culture on student learning, (b) research on
the impacts of teacher collective efficacy on student learning, and (c) research on the effects of teachers’ academic
optimism on student learning.
1. Compelling purpose, shared standards, and academic focus
Communities come into existence and thrive because of a common purpose for working together. A group’s Communities
come into existence and thrive because of a common purpose for working together. A group’s compelling
purpose establishes reciprocal expectations for its members. Louis, Marks, and Kruse (1996) assert that teachers’
professional communities operate with a sense of moral authority and moral responsibility for making a difference
in the lives of students. Such purpose must be grounded in clearly articulated standards for both student and
teacher performance. Defining and refining the meaning of doing good work is the task of a professional learning
community. Understandable performance and product standards are an important catalyst for conversations among
colleagues and for focusing conversations with students and parents.
The work on academic optimism by Hoy, Tarter, & Woolfolk-Hoy (2006) emphasizes the significance of establishing
and maintaining a strong academic focus in the school and is at the center of the work of any professional
community. Without such a focus, groups spend their time talking about and around peripheral issues instead of
working on the work of learning and teaching.
2. Collective efficacy and shared responsibility for student learning
The personal efficacy of individual teachers is a well-studied phenomenon (Tschannen-Moran,
Woolfolk-Hoy, & Hoy, 1998). Highly efficacious teachers believe that their teaching knowledge and skills can
overcome external factors to make an important difference for their students. Teachers with stronger personal efficacy
beliefs consistently outperform teachers in the same settings with weaker beliefs.
These applications in education are based on the concepts of self-efficacy that Albert Bandura (1977) introduced
more than a quarter century ago. Self-efficacy is the belief in our capacity to organize and carry out a plan of action
to produce some goal.
More recent work (Goddard, Hoy, & Woolfolk-Hoy, 2004) extends these concepts into the collective realm of
teaching. To have a high degree of collective efficacy means that group members believe that they and others,
individually and together, are capable of producing increased student success and of overcoming obstacles to that
goal. These collective expectations are a powerful element in a school and in a team’s working culture, influencing
the behaviors and choices of both the individuals and the group as a whole.
Goddard, Hoy and Woolfolk-Hoy (2004) report that being able to influence instructionally relevant school decisions
is the most important factor in developing a robust sense of collective efficacy. Participating in decision making
contributes strongly to teachers’ beliefs in the capabilities of their peers, fosters commitment to school goals,
and promotes gains in student achievement.
3. Collaborative Culture
Who teachers are to one another is as important as who they are to their students. In high-performing
and improving schools, studies show that collaboration is the norm (Little, 1982; Newman &
Associates, 1997). We are not talking here about project-based collaboration or the “contrived
collegiality” described by Hargreaves and Dawe (1990) in which administrators create tasks and
agendas to occupy teachers’ collective energies. Rather, we are referring to sharing expertise and
perspectives on teaching and learning processes, examining data on students, and developing a sense of
mutual support and shared responsibility for effective instruction.
Collaboration and collegiality in this way is part of one’s professional identity. It does not happen by
chance; it has to be taught, practiced, and learned. Developing collaborative cultures is the work of
leaders who realize that a collection of superstar teachers working in isolation cannot produce the same
results as interdependent colleagues who share and develop professional practices together. From such
interactions come growth and learning for teachers, teams, and schools as adaptive organizations.
4. Communal application of effective teaching practices and deprivatized practice
The norms of privacy have deep roots in “real schools.” Once the classroom door is closed, the teacher
The norm of privacy has deep roots in “real” schools.” Once the classroom door is closed, the teacher
is God. In this sphere of autonomy lies both greatness and sorrow. Within the zone of isolation, some
teachers still find ways to develop craft knowledge, content knowledge, and compassion for their
students. These extraordinary individuals manage to stimulate their teaching and continually renew
their passion for daily interactions with young minds. All too often, however, this same isolation buffers
mediocrity and hides high performers from those who might learn from their modeling, consultation,
and coaching.
When practice is deprivatized, teachers visit one another’s classrooms to observe master teaching,
to coach each other, to mentor, and to solve problems in the living laboratory of instructional space.
Students are the beneficiaries of shared teaching repertoires. Although many schools and districts
have spent much time and energy developing coherent curriculum maps, shared instructional maps
are equally important. When students proceed to the next grade or next subject in a secondary school,
having possession of a predictable learning repertoire, (such as an understanding of a palette of graphic
organizers,) energizes learning and increases success—especially for the least successful learners.
By developing communities of practice, teachers establish a working zone between the macroworld of
district initiatives and resources and the microworld of their classrooms (McLaughlin & Talbert, 2006).
In this way they develop more coherent instructional approaches that represent shared understandings of
their unique setting.
5. Relational trust in each other, in students and parents.
In their work on the effects of academic optimism on student achievement Hoy, Tarter, & Woolfolk-Hoy
(2006) point out that collective efficacy is the cognitive side of the equation, academic emphasis is the
behavioral side, and faculty trust in one another, in students, and in parents is the affective side. Given
the powerful biochemical connections between thinking and feeling in our bodies and our brains, it is
difficult to separate these functions in practice.
Trust is the glue that binds community members to one another. This is equally true for teacher
communities, classroom communities, and parent communities. When all three parties hold the
expectations for their relationships, and these expectations are grounded in shared goals and values, trust
is a powerful resource for learning.
Bryk and Schneider (2002), in their seminal work in Chicago schools, name four elements of relational
trust: respect, competence, personal regard for others, and integrity. Respect comes in the form of basic
civility and a willingness to listen deeply to what each person has to say. Parents, students, and teachers
need opportunities to talk with and influence each other and to believe that they can positively affect
educational outcomes. Competence is the sense that each party has the ability to carry out its appropriate
roles and produce desired outcomes. This applies to both academic results and teacher-student
relationships. When gross incompetence goes unchecked, it erodes trust and undermines shared efforts
toward improving learning. Personal regard for others deepens relational trust. We are a social species,
wired for relationships and reciprocity. Mutual support and mutual caring fuel these associations.
Extending ourselves to and for others is like making a deposit in the trust account; the interest in this
account compounds with each deposit. Integrity is the congruence between saying and doing. In trusting
relationships, this means we believe that a sense of morality and ethics is operating in others and in the
ways we are relating. Following through with agreements and commitments is a key aspect of integrity.
6. Individual and group learning based on ongoing assessment and feedback
““Learning is a basic, adaptive function of humans. More than any other species, people are designed to
be flexible learners and active agents in acquiring knowledge and skills” (Bransford, Brown, & Cocking,
1999, p, xi). Cognitive science tells us that learning is socially constructed and individually integrated;
learning therefore requires engaging with other learners and is an active process for all involved.
Individual and collective learning is one of the key characteristics of effective professional learning
communities (Bolam, McMahon, Stoll, Thomas, & Wallace, 2005).
For adult groups, learning how to learn together requires conscious attention, purposeful structures,
and meaningful feedback. One form of feedback arises when teachers look at student work together
to explore what is working and what might require modification in their curricular and instructional
approaches. Groups apply another form of feedback when they take time to reflect on their own
The Adaptive School: Developing and Facilitating Collaborative Groups . Center for Adaptive Schools . www.adaptiveschools.com